Snow Petrels as Monitors of Climate Change

Snow Petrels are birds of the Antarctic, and because their habitat is changing, and forecast to change even more rapidly, Australian scientists will add small tracking devices to Snow Petrels at several colonies in Antarctica. This will enable the scientists to monitor where the Snow Petrels feed, and thus be an indicator of changes in the southern ocean currents and food supplies. This is a region that is expected to be very sensitive to global climate changes. As one who loves birds, I could not resist putting this link up, even though the article just outlines the beginning of their research. Above photo by Bill Fintel.